Way back in February I blogged Photo Roots: Robert Doisneau, which was intended to launch a new series of sorts for M45. The idea was to showcase influential photographers- both historical and contemporary- whose works inspire my own (and, I’m sure, many other photographers as well.)

Well, quite a bit of time has passed, as you may have observed, but I’m going to pick up the series again- this time with a modern, female photographer: Zena Holloway.

Zena is a very successful commercial and editorial photographer (and director) whose work is an excellent example of niche photography; she is renowned for her gorgeously surreal and ethereal underwater images.

Zena developed a passion for the underwater world as a result of her short career as a PADI SCUBA diving instructor in Egypt. She was 18.

Later, in the Cayman Islands, she began photographing people and their families underwater to great acclaim.

Now widely considered the UK’s premier underwater photographer in the editorial genre, Zena’s won numerous international awards, and has produced campaigns with clients like Nike, Sony, Epson, and Herbal Essences, according to the bio section of her website.

This is one of the first photos I saw of hers, and still one of my favorites:

You can even book a session with Zena to have your family or baby photographed underwater at Urchin Rock.com, a professional underwater portraiture company she formed with her partner Patrick Griffith.

I couldn’t corroborate it, but according to one source, Zena uses a pair of Canon EOS-1Ds Mark IIs for her shots.

Cait, this is a very cool thing to do. I love Zena’s work and think it is very creative and different. I may borrow your idea and pay tribute to some of those photographers that have influenced me. My list includes, André Kertész, Winston O. Link, John Sexton, Michael Grecco and most recently David Duchemin.